Malawi News Online - 07/14/96

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE/MALAWI NEWS ONLINE/MALAWI NEWS ONLINE

Edition No: 11 14
July 1996

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The fortnightly update of news
from Malawi

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE is written by Malawian journalists,
in Malawi and from their point of view. It is assembled
and edited in Denmark by South Africa Contact (the
former anti-apartheid movement), publishers of i'Afrika,
the quarterly magazine on Southern Africa.

The fortnightly news updates from Malawi are provided
by our established network of journalists in Southern
Africa. They will be followed, in the not too distant
future, by individual news updates covering other Southern
African countries.

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE is brought to you by a co-operation
between South Africa Contact and Inform-bbs, the leading
alternative information network in Denmark.

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In this edition:

Feature: GIRLS LAG BEHIND BOYS IN EDUCATION

Articles:

1 NEW DRUG RESISTANT STRAIN OF TB FOUND IN MALAWI

2 PRESS TRUST RECONSTRUCTION ACT NULL AND VOID

3 JAPAN DONATES AMBULANCES TO MALAWI

4 LUNGUZI DIES

5 EARTH STATION IN COMMISSION

6 MCP SEEKS TO STOP ONGOING SITTING OF PARLIAMENT

7 400 PRISONERS WALK FREE

8 DEATH OF WORKS AND SUPPLIES MINISTER

9 MULUZI'S VEILED WARNING

10 KUWAIT HELP FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

11 MALAWI BEAT TANZANIA IN SOCCER FRIENDLY

12 MALAWI'S ATHLETES IN THE OLYMPICS

FEATURE:

GIRLS LAG BEHIND BOYS IN EDUCATION

China Limau is the only girl out of the 35 students
in Standard 8 at Muona Primary school in Nsanje, south
Malawi. She wants to be an engineer after completing
school. She does not want to be like other girls who
upon finishing school opt for more female related careers.
She wants something distinctive.

However, the possibility of achieving her goal looks
grim. In Malawi, girls still drop out of school more
frequently than boys despite the many incentives that
have recently been made available to enable them to
continue their education. It is estimated that only
28% of the Standard 8 pupils in the country are girls
and of that percentage only 36% pass their examinations.

China Limau, however, is not deterred by these statistics.
"I want to be educated like you," she told
a group of journalists who recently visited her town
during a countrywide tour.

According to research done at the University of Malawi
it has been shown, that in spite of programmes such
as Girls Attainment for Basic Literacy Education (GABLE),
which in the last few years has helped raise enrolment
in primary schools to a ratio of one boy to one girl,
by the time Standard four is reached, half of the girls
drop out. And, by the time they reach Standard 8 the
drop out ratio is two girls to every boy, according
to Esme Kadzamira, a research fellow with the university.

Statistics for Standard 1 in the 1992-93 school session
showed more girls than boys enrolled, with a figure
of 38% of girls reaching Standard 8 compared to just
30% in 1989-90, before the introduction of GABLE. The
enrolment of girls in primary schools continued to
shoot up between 1993 and 1995. Still, and even with
these achievements, girls continue to drop out at
a much higher rate, said Kadzamira.

The GABLE programme was introduced in 1991 to promote
primary education for girls. It includes providing
scholarships to girls like China Limau who make it
to secondary school. GABLE also helps to make Malawians
more aware of the need to educate girls as well as
boys, and to help bring about a change in attitude.
The project targets its message at parents, guardians,
community leaders and counsellors, through radio and
the traditional initiation institutions.

Although aimed at both sexes, the free primary school
programme introduced in 1994 boosted girls' enrolment.
During its inception period, enrolment peaked to a
record 3.2 million pupils, and of these over half were
girls. However, by the end of the same year, 1.9 million
students had already dropped out and it is estimated
that almost a third of these were girls.

According to a situation analysis done on poverty in
Malawi, most of the girls drop out due to teenage pregnancies
and early marriages. Some parents even withdraw their
daughters from school when they reach puberty for fear
of unwanted pregnancies. Linley Kantengeni, Controller
of Women and Children's Affairs, said the problem is
very complicated. "It concerns the social constraints
of our culture." By this, she attributes the
drop out rate of girls to Malawian culture, attitudes
and values. She said that following the norms of Malawian
culture, parents prefer sending their sons to school
than rather than their daughters because boys are considered
"more brainy and as leaders". She also said
that even the classroom environment is sometimes not
so conducive to the promotion of the education of girls.

Teachers, for example, often do not notice the performance
of girls in class and there is also the problem of
girls being bullied because some boys do not accept
that a girl can do better than them . This would appear
to be simply because they have been brought up with
the belief that they are more intelligent than girls
and that it is they who are the ones with the leadership
abilities.

Primary school education is not compulsory in Malawi
and to address the problems that have arisen because
of this there are those advocating its introduction.
However, from the problems at the time when the introduction
of free primary education took place - the increased
enrolment making it difficult for the existing facilities
to accommodate the pupils - the Desk Officer for GABLE,
Mary Shaba said that although this could be a sure
way of raising the enrolment of girls, she considers
the time is not yet ripe for such a project because
of the lack of the necessary logistics in order to
cope. When free primary education was introduced, classrooms,
teaching materials, textbooks and teachers were all
inadequate or lacking. The result was confusion with,
for example, many children being taught out in the
open, under trees and in hastily erected temporary
structures.

Mary Shaba considers such a project must wait so that
Malawi may avoid a repeat of all the confusion that
arose following the introduction of free primary education.
And, it would seem, with the situation as it is at
present, that much more needs to be done to assure
China Limau that her dream will come true.

ARTICLES:

1 NEW DRUG RESISTANT STRAIN OF TB FOUND IN MALAWI

Malawi researchers have found a strain of drug resistant
tuberculosis after testing a new vaccine.

On expert has called it "a severe blow to containment"
(More to come on this story next week)

2 PRESS TRUST RECONSTRUCTION ACT NULL AND VOID

The High Court in Blantyre has ruled that the Press
Trust Reconstruction Bill, passed by Parliament in
September last year, is unconstitutional and therefore
null and void. Judge Dunstan Mwaungulu said the bill
was passed without the two thirds majority required
to form a quorum. In addition, he said the bill was
not served to the members of the house 21 days before
it was presented to the house as required by the constitution
.

The Bill sought to wrest the Press Trust, which was
then believed to have been solely owned by former president
Kamuzu Banda, from its private owners. Mwaungulu said
following the ruling, that the Press Trust reverted
back to the original owners of the trust in 1982, with
the general public as the beneficial owners.

However, Judge Mwaungulu threw out an application from
the MCP seeking to reinstate Kamuzu Banda as the sole
trustee of the fund. According to the ruling, Kamuzu
Banda remains the founding trustee, while the current
Secretary to the President and Cabinet and the Finance
minister, are ex-officio members.

The Attorney General will be the administrator of the
fund to ensure that it is used by its rightful owners,
the public.

3 JAPAN DONATES AMBULANCES TO MALAWI

Malawi has received a donation of 115 ambulances from
the Japanese government, to be distributed to health
centres throughout the country. The ambulances valued
at MK45 million (US 3 million dollars) have been provided
under the debt relief grant aid for the first half
of 1996.

Forty-three of the ambulances are already in the country
while the rest are expected to arrive into the country
shortly. On presenting the ambulances, Tadashi Masui,
Japanese ambassador to Malawi said he hoped the vehicles
would help to reduce the acute shortage at Malawi hospitals.

On the same day Japan also donated drugs worth MK13.5
million (US 900,000 dollars) to the government of Malawi.

4 LUNGUZI DIES

Barely a month after he joined politics, ex-police Inspector
General McWilliam Lunguzi was killed in a car accident
on July 2 in central Malawi. His vehicle ran into a
stationary tractor, killing him on the spot. Three
other people were injured in the same accident.

Lunguzi, who joined the Malawi Congress Party last month,
was travelling from the northern region city of Mzuzu
where he had addressed a rally. The accident happened
near Mponela, about 60 kilometres north of the capital,
Lilongwe at about 9:00 PM local time. 5 EARTH
STATION IN COMMISSION

President Bakili Muluzi on July 5 commissioned a third
earth station and a second international telephone
exchange in Blantyre.

The new earth station will provide adequate facility
for the next 11 years after which a fourth earth station
will be installed in Dowa, central Malawi. A third
international telephone exchange will be installed
in 2007.

The new facilities are expected to ease congestion on
the South African and the United Kingdom telecommunications
streams.

Mitsin and Company Limited of Japan has pumped into
the project a loan of US$10 million (MK150m) while
the Malawi Posts and Telecommunications Corporation
will finance the project with US$1.67 million (MK25
m).

6 MCP SEEKS TO STOP ONGOING SITTING OF PARLIAMENT

The Malawi Congress Party is to seek a court order
to declare the ongoing sitting of parliament illegal
and the bills passed during the sitting null and void.

MCP Publicity Secretary Hetherwick Ntaba, buoyed by
the High Court's ruling on the Press Trust Reconstruction
Act said that following the walkout by the opposition
MCP and AFORD from parliament some two weeks ago, there
was no quorum in the house to pass any bills.

The High Court July 3 declared the Press Trust Reconstruction
Act - passed in September last year - null and void
due to lack of quorum in the house at the time the
bill was passed, following MCP's walkout. The MCP walked
out in protest against the manner in which the bill
was introduced, this being that it had to be served
to members 21 days before tabling.

Ntaba said the High Court's ruling was clear proof that
the on-going session is unlawful and all business transacted
during the session is invalid. "We shall apply
for a court order declaring all bills passed after
our walkout from the house as null and void, and also
the immediate suspension of the house's sitting,"
said Ntaba.

He bemoaned the apparent lack of interest shown by competent
bodies like the Law Society of Malawi and the Public
Affairs Committee in the controversy.

AFORD walked out of parliament some few weeks ago in
protest against the appointment of Aford MP Melvyn
Moyo as a cabinet minister and the failure by the Speaker
of the National Assembly to declare seats of Aford
ministers in government vacant after the dissolution
of the UDF/Aford coalition. MCP walked out as a matter
of principle in support of Aford.

The house has so far passed the Local Government Election
Bill and the Gaming Bill without the presence of the
opposition.

7 400 PRISONERS WALK FREE

President Bakili Muluzi on July 5 pardoned and released
400 prisoners on the occasion of the country's 32nd
anniversary of independence.

Chief Commissioner of Prisons Wiskes Mwale said 19 of
the pardoned prisoners were females serving various
prison terms.

He said for reasons of public security, those prisoners
who are convicted of and are serving prison terms for
armed robbery, robbery with violence, rape, defilement,
indecent assault, house breaking, theft burglary, possession
of fire arms without permit and escape from lawful
custody, will not find their way out.

8 DEATH OF WORKS AND SUPPLIES MINISTER

Alhaji Shaibu Itimu, one of the leading Muslim personalities
to have surfaced during the fight for multiparty democracy,
died on July 10 after a long illness.

Itimu, who until his death was Works and Supplies Minister,
had been educated up to university level through and
benefited from former president Kamuzu Banda's financial
support. He had been in hospital in South Africa for
several weeks due to illness and only returned home
a few days before his death.

Burial, following full Islamic rites, took place on
July 12 at his home in Machinga, south Malawi with
President Bakili Muluzi among the thousands of sympathisers
paying their last respects to the late minister.

Itimu, 46, was the country's fourth leading political
personality to die within a space of two weeks. UDF
MP for Blantyre city central, Witness Makata, MCP prominent
politician and ex-police chief, McWilliam Lunguzi and
Justice and Attorney General (who was also UDF's Treasurer),
and General Collins Chizumila, have all died within
the past two weeks.

In the present new political dispensation, Itimu was
one of the most vocal and bitter critics of his mentor
and everything that the name of Kamuzu represented.

He is survived by two wives and nine children.

9 MULUZI'S VEILED WARNING

President Bakili Muluzi recently issued a veiled warning
to his critics and political opponents that he will
not stand by while people "who never in the first
place supported the multiparty movement," go about
"trying to destroy the foundations of democracy
in the country". Muluzi was speaking at the installation
ceremony of Chief Nyambi in his home district, Machinga.

Using his typical Chichewa ( the most widely spoken
local language) slogans Muluzi declared that whether
anyone liked it or not, he is the president of Malawi
until 1999 and he ruled out completely any possibility
of someone else taking over the reins of power from
him before his party's term of office is over.

He warned "people who wish others evil" and
said that he would not tolerate "people who are
possessed with demons" and would also not tolerate
those who undermine or underrate his administration.

On the same day, Muluzi announced that several junior
chiefs in the country had been upgraded to full traditional
authorities.

10 KUWAIT HELP FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is to
provide Malawi with a MK150 million (US$15 million)
loan for various development projects. The Fund's director
general, Bader al-Humaidi, while on a visit to the
country, said his organisation was waiting for the
completion of feasibility studies on the projects which
include irrigation and road construction.

Negotiations for the loan were initiated last year when
a number of projects, including agriculture, irrigation,
posts and telecommunications and transport were submitted
for consideration. A follow-up mission on the proposed
projects, held July 4 to 9 last year agreed on the
following priority projects:

Naminga-Nsanama-Bselema-Chiponde-Mangoch Road (138km)

Midima-Ngulundi-Nguludi Road (63.5km)

Mwanza-Neno-Tsangano Road (128km)

Land Resettlement Project

Liwilezi Irrigation Project

Karonga-Chitipa Road

Technical experts are currently working on the feasibility
studies for the land resettlement project and for some
of the roads. Officials representing the Kuwait Fund
have also indicated willingness to lend Malawi about
Mk150 million (US$10 million ) for the implementation
of the telephone service improvement project in southern
Malawi.

The implementation of the projects is estimated to start
early next year.

11 MALAWI BEAT TANZANIA IN SOCCER FRIENDLY

Malawi and Tanzania drew 1 all on July 9 in the third
and last friendly soccer match, played in the northern
city of Mzuzu.

The two teams played three games, one in each of the
country's cities, as part of Malawi's republic celebrations
which started on July 6.

Malawi, alias Flames, beat the visiting team 3-2 in
the first game in Blantyre on July 6 and went on to
win again 1-0 in Lilongwe on July 7.

12 MALAWI IN THE OLYMPICS

27 June . Two athletes, both marathon runners - John
Mwathiwa and Henry Moyo - are the only two Malawians
due to represent the land of the lake at the Olympic
games in Atlanta. Four others were dropped at the last
minute. Among the four dropped are two marathon runners
and two tennis players.

Malawi did not participate in the All Africa pre-Olympic
qualifying games held in Harare, Zimbabwe and, as a
result, no single Malawian athlete qualified for the
games. They have nevertheless been invited.

The Olympic squad accompanied by four officials sponsored
separately left the country on June 27 for Mississippi
where they will stay while enroute to Atlanta for the
games which start soon.